Flash Back, Flash Forward
by wordswontstop
Summary: Time for Gracie's sleepover, and an interesting suggestion for Alyssa... Little change of format, hope you like it!
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everybody! New story! Gracie's sleepover coming up, and a proposition for Alyssa. Should be interesting! This story is going to be a little different, though, I think. I've been toying with this idea for a while, and I think this story will be a good time to try it. Basically, it's just like my other Alyssa/Gracie stories, except this story will have flash-backs and also flash-forwards. That's the plan anyways. Haha! ****Let me know how you like it? Read and review!**

**~Rye**

"Sleepover! Can we rent movies? I wanna see the Hannah Montana movie!" Gibbs chuckled as Grace rambled on and on about her upcoming party. She had finished the invitations last week, and hand-delivered them to five of her best friends at school. The party was the next night, and it was all she had been talking about for weeks. Gibbs saw (but chose to ignore) Alyssa beside him pretending to gag. "And can we order pizza? Pepperoni! And cheese! And pineapple! Oh! Can we get ice cream? I really like ice cream. We could make sundaes! Sundaes are the best! They're better than Saturdays! And maybe we can make crafts, too. Like pictures frames! And we can take pictures that we can put in them. We'll have a photo shoot!"

"That sounds great, sweetheart, but why don't we narrow it down to one or two of those?"

Grace's jaw dropped and her eyes were wide as saucers. Hurt tears filled her blue eyes. "Just one?" Her mouth closed again and her bottom lick stuck out in an adorable pout. She even sniffled lightly. "But..."

_Oh, no. _That face was so innocent, so sweet, so precious. He just couldn't say 'no' to that face. "Well, two. Or... Three?"

"Yayy! You're the greatest!" Grace squealed and wrapped her arms around his legs. Within seconds, she was back to her perky babbling and spinning around in circles until her lime green skirt flew out around her. He noticed that she had conveniently forgotten to remove some of the sleepover's activities. "This is gonna be the bestest party ever!" Her eyes widened again with a surprised and concerned expression. "I gotta go clean my room." Grace scampered down the hallway, leaving Alyssa and Gibbs alone in the kitchen.

Alyssa moaned from behind him. "I really gotta learn some of her moves."

He shook his head in disagreement. "I don't think it would work for you."

"But... but..." Alyssa blinked tears into her blue eyes, the color so similar to her sister's. She pouted just as adorably, with a bit more conviction.

He growned. Yep, she was good. He turned his head away from the pitifully sweet sight. "Okay, okay. It works."

"Thought so. You are so unprepared for tomorrow night. Do you seriously think you're ready for this?" Alyssa asked, giggling.

"Sure. How much trouble can a bunch of seven-year-old girls get into, anyways?"

Alyssa laughed. "Are you serious? Boatloads!" He stares down his nose at her, unbelieving. "Well, then. Let me tell you what I did when I was seven..."

_Flash-Back: Nine years earlier_

_Maria Tanner collected the mail from the mailbox and jogged back into the house, wishing she had thought to bring a jacket, even on such a short excursion. Her breath fogged in the cold November air as she rubbed her freezing hands together, trying to warm them. She smiled and waved at her seven-year-old daughter, Alyssa, who was watching her mother from the window. Maria reached up to turn the door handle, but it wouldn't turn. She twisted it again with more force but it barely jiggled, a sure sign that the door was locked from the inside. After thoroughly searching her pants pockets, she remembered leaving her keys in the kitchen the night before._

_She briefly thought about calling Daniel, but then realized her mistake. Daniel was still fighting with the marines overseas; he wouldn't be home for months still. Her heart stung with missing him, but she pushed away the tears and tried to concentrate on her dilemma. She tried the handle once more fruitlessly, then kicked the door in frustration. It was the only door to the house, and the windows we're all locked tight against the cold. Her only hope was that Alyssa could unlock the door by herself._

_Maria tapped on the nearby window until her daughter turned. __"Lyssa, baby. Come open the door, okay?" Alyssa's eyebrows crinkled in confusion. "Crap. She can't hear me..." Maria acted out turning a lock and opening the door, but Alyssa just stared at her as if she were a street mime, fully entertained and not the slightest bit interested in getting involved in the act. "ALYSSA! DOOR! DOOR!" She said, gesturing pointedly to her daughter, then to the door._

_Alyssa's mouth opened in a perfect circle, and she nodded her head as if she finally understood. She disappeared from Maria's view as she climbed down from the couch, and Maria sighed in relief. Finally, she was going to open the door. But her emotions quickly changed to confused as Alyssa returned, wearing a mask. Maria stepped closer to the window, trying to make out what her daughter was doing. _

_Alyssa was jumping up and down on the couch, wearing a lion's mask across her face and making clawing hand motions. __She pressed her ear against the window and could just make out Alyssa's loud noises. "ROAR! ROAR!"_

_"Oh, no. 'Door', Lyssa, not 'roar'!"_

"Yep. My mom had to go to the neighbor's house and call the fire department. They came and kicked down the door."

"Why does that story not surprise me?"

"Anyways, like I said, trouble. And that was just me being seven and not understanding what she meant. I was a lot worse when I wanted to be."

"I'm sure you were a terror. But Grace isn't like that."

"You're being very naive about this!" She argued. "Little girls_ are_ trouble, whether you admit it or not."

"But you and Grace are entirelty different. And the biggest difference between you two, is that Grace is a _good girl_."

A smirk spread across her face. "Good girls are just bad girls that don't get caught."

* * *

_Flash-Forward: Ten years later_

_It was around two in the morning when Grace began to ease open the door of her home. All the lights were off in the house. She tiptoed inside, slowly closing the door behind her. She cringed as it creaked shut, but relaxed slightly when she heard no other noises. She had laid silently in her bed for hours, waiting for her dad to fall asleep, but there were no guarantee that he would stay that way. Any noise could be the that woke him up. She began to creep slowly across the rug, then froze._

_"Good morning, Gracie." She lightly stomped her foot on the floor, kept her head down. She mouthed a word she knew he wouldn't approve of her using. "Watch your mouth, Grace Elizabeth." _

_How did he see that? __"Right… My bad."_

_"I'd say so."_

_Grace stood silently for a moment, deep in thought. "So... I don't suppose anything I say right now is going to help me out of this."_

_"Not a bit."_

_"Great," She said sarcastically. She watched as Gibbs rose from his chair and walked over to her, looking eerily calm. She felt her heart beat speed up and nervously shoved her hands into her back pockets._

_"Did you have a good time?" He asked her, looking like he expected an answer._

_She considered lying but figured it wouldn't help her case any. And she knew what happened when she lied; it wasn't something she would choose of her own free will. "Yeah." _

_"Good. Because I'd say that's the last time you will for a while." She winced, but he continued. "You're grounded. Home, church, school, NCIS. That's it."_

_"Fine, got it." Grace nodded, trying to be as agreeable as possible, and slowly eased to her right before he grabbed her arm and pulled her back to stand in front of him._

_"Didn't say you could move."_

_"Got that, too." She squeezed her eyes shut._

_"Keys."_

_Grace groaned inwardly, but knew better than to voice it. She dropped her car keys into his extended hand. __"Can I go now?" _

_"Look at me." Grace moaned quietly, didn't open her eyes. "Grace…" His voice trailed in warning and she opened her eyes, but kept them down to the floor. "Better. Now look at me." She sighed deeply and looked up at him._

_Grace had figured out all her older sister's tricks. The sweet little girl she had once been had grown into a rebellious teenager who could push his buttons with just a look. He had been up for hours worrying about her, but she all she was worried about was getting out of this without getting into trouble. It was unlikely. _Very _unlikely. _

_His posture was calm, his arms crossed across his chest, but his eyes were flashing fury. "Where were you?"_

_"Out…" _

_Gibbs tightened his grip on her arm slightly. "Don't even think about avoiding the question again, Grace."_

_"I went to a party." Grace rolled her eyes._

_"Alcohol?"_

_She shrugged. "Yeah, there was some there, but I didn't drink any."_

_"You sure about that?"_

_"Yeah!"_

_"Tone, Gracie."_

_"I didn't have anything to drink, okay?"_

_Gibbs made an angry noise and pulled her towards him, sat her on the couch. He sat down across from her and the coffee table. "Drugs?"_

_Alyssa shrugged again. "I didn't see any."_

_"When did you leave?"_

_"Uhh…"_

_"When. Did. You. Leave?"_

_"I don't know. After you fell asleep. Maybe one?"_

_Gibbs glanced at his watch then back to her. "You've been gone about five hours…"_

_"I guess."_

_"You guess?"_

_"I mean, yeah. Yes. Yes, sir." He was sure she was just doing that to irritate him._

_"Go upstairs. Now."_

_Once upstairs in her room with the door shut, Grace pulled out her phone out of her pocket. She considered herself lucky to have gotten out without having it confiscated, but that didn't mean she wouldn't later. One unread message. She clicked it open and read a text from her sister. _You get caught?

_Her fingers clicked quickly over the keys. _Yeah, totally. Such a b******. _As soon as the message was sent, she deleted it from her outbox. _

_The phone dinged quietly with a reply message. _Yikes, good luck! Told ya not to get caught.

_Grace thought back to what her sister had said to her a few years ago, before she left for college. "Good girls are just bad girls that don't caught." But that had been when she was still a good girl..._

_Gulping, Grace slipped her phone under her mattress and listened to the footsteps like thunder coming up the stairs..._

* * *

_Present Day_

Alyssa spun around in her chair, looking thoroughly bored. Her eyes skimmed over the full bullpen, bustling with people she could talk to. But she stayed in her chair, looking at, not reading, a textbook. She'd already been yelled at twice by Gibbs for distracting his team, and she was trying not to push him too far. Yet.

Gibbs was sitting beside her, typing something into the computer like he was angry with it. Alyssa thought about asking for some money to hit up the vending machine, or going down to Abby's lab to see Grace, but had just decided not to bother him, when the most bothersome of people (in her opinion, anyways) came down the stairs.

"Gibbs." Vance said courteously.

"Leon." Gibbs looked up from his computer briefly.

"Alyssa." Vance said uncomfortably.

Alyssa's eyes widened when he spoke to her. It was the first time he had since, well, ever. But she wasn't interested in being 'best buddies' with the director of NCIS. "Vance." She said, glaring.

"Can I speak to you in my office, Alyssa?"

Alyssa turned to Gibbs, blue eyes confused. "Uh, sure?" She said, asking like it was a question.

But Jethro was not looking at Alyssa. He was instead glaring at Vance. "Anything you need to say to Alyssa you can say in front of me." He briefly wondered if she had pulled some kind of prank, or caused some kind of trouble around NCIS, but surely she wasn't that stupid. Right?

"Fine. My office."

Alyssa followed close behind Vance, but kept peeking over her shoulder to look at Gibbs. She looked a bit terrified, which made him worry that his assumption may have been correct. By the time the group had reached the director's office, Alyssa had regained her composure. She fell into a chair in front of the desk, arms crossed over her chest. "Did I do something wrong?" She asked, arrogantly, as if she couldn't care less about the outcome.

Jethro jumped into the conversation before Leon did. If he could get her to confess, things might turn out better for her in the end. Well, officially, anyways. That didn't mean he wouldn't deal with the incident personally at home. "I didn't know, did you?"

She appeared to be in deep thought for a moment, then finally answered. "I want a lawyer."

"Alyssa..." Gibbs ground out, practically growling.

"Chill, Gibbs! Jeesh! No. I didn't do anything." She corrected her statement, frowning. "I don't _think_ I did anything. Though I might have forgotten."

"No, Alyssa hasn't done anything." Vance had been watching the exchange silently, moderately amused, before finally freeing Alyssa from the forthcoming interrogation.

"Thank you!" Alyssa said dramatically and sarcastically, barely glancing at him. "Told ya I didn't do anything."

Gibbs resisted the urge to roll his eyes, or better yet, headslap her. He kept his eyes on the director.

"No, this is not about what Alyssa has done. This is about what we want Alyssa to do... for NCIS."

**DUH DUH DUH! Nice cliffy, huh? Leave me reviews, please!**

**~Rye**


	2. Chapter 2

_"No, this is not about what Alyssa has done. This is about what we want Alyssa to do... for NCIS."_

"There's a club downtown, Lost Boulevard?" Vance said, looking for a response.

"Oh yeah, I know that place! Some of my friends went there last week for a concert. Apparently, the bouncers don't ever check their fake i- Never mind."

Gibbs and Vance stared at Alyssa who seemed suddenly very interested in her fingernails.

"Uh-huh... Anyways, there's a suspected weapons drop planned there for Friday night. Corrupted Navy officer's trying to earn some cash on the side."

"And this has what to do with my daughter?"

Vance looked briefly to Gibbs, then back to Alyssa. "Like Alyssa was saying, the club is rather lax on their entrance policy. Instead of carding anyone suspected of being underage, the bouncers won't let anyone in who appears to be over twenty-five. The main crowd there is under twenty-one. As a result, none of our agents were able to get into Lost Boulevard, despite multiple attempts last week. We need someone young and inconspicuous to act as our eyes and ears inside the club. And Alyssa just happened to cross my mind."

Alyssa's blue eyes widened in both excitement and confusion. Surely NCIS wasn't offering her a job? They wouldn't, right? She was only sixteen. Not to mention she wasn't even slightly interested in being involved in a case. Unless she got to carry a gun. That might be kind of cool. "Seriously? Why would you want me?"

"You're quick on your feet, as you showed with your parent's case involving Landon Byrd. You're smart, intuitive, read people pretty well. I think you've got the potential to become a good agent."

Alyssa's broad smile was quickly wiped away as Gibbs' hand settled on her shoulder. "That's great, but she's not interested." He inserted firmly.

"Uh, yeah, she is!" Alyssa feuded.

"No, she's not." His tone bred no argument.

She rolled her eyes and turned away. "Whatever."

"Alyssa wouldn't be involved in the take-down at all, just the surveillance. We can't bust into the place without definite proof of what's going on. That's why we need her inside, undercover, with a microphone and camera. We'll have agents surrounding the perimeter, and they'd be ready to go in at any sign of danger. There would be next-to-no chance of an incident."

"That's not a gamble I'm willing to take." Jethro said, already immovable on his position.

Outside the room, a small tussle could be heard, followed by a high shriek. "Daddy!" The secretary swung open the door to the inner office, using her free hand to push back Grace. "Director! I don't know how she got in, sir! I really don't..."

"You better go. Your princess is calling you." Alyssa said, smirking.

Gibbs looked to the door, then back. He bit his lip, clearly torn between getting Grace out of where she shouldn't be, or keeping Alyssa from going where he didn't want her. "I'll... be right back."

He left the room, and Alyssa turned back to Vance. He looked confused by the interruption. The teenager shrugged in explanation. "She has seperation anxiety. We're working on it in therapy."

"Right..." There was a long pause where they stared at each other, both unsure of what to say. "So, Alyssa. Do you want this job? I can work on Gibbs."

Alyssa shrugged. "Good luck with that. You may be the director of NCIS and all, but I kinda think Gibbs does what he wants."

"We'll see about that. So," he steepled his fingers and leaned across the desk. "Are you in or not?"

A smile spread across her face. Vance, with whom she was not intimately aquainted, saw a sweet obliging teenage girl interested in helping out. Anyone who knew her better would see what she was really thinking. This was going to be _so fun._ "Oh, yeah. I'm in."

* * *

"He's being totally unreasonable!"

"You're absolutely right. I'm just trying to keep you from getting _shot at_, but yeah, I'm completely unreasonable."

"That's not what I meant!"

"Well then, what did you mean?"

"I don't know; I can't think when you're yelling at me!" Alyssa practically screamed, her hands raised in exasperation.

"I'm not yelling! I'm voicing my opinion... Loudly." He admitted.

"That's called yelling!" Alyssa ranted as she sat in Dr. Zoe Jameson's office. She was seated on the far left side of the couch. Jethro sat on the far right. Across the room, Zoe sat silently, observing the exchange. "I just meant that it's not fair that you won't let me explore an opportunity that could possibly seriously influence my future." Alyssa smiled smugly, thinking that he couldn't deny her an experience that could direct her to a prospective job.

Zoe began to insert her own opinion: any interest Alyssa had in her future should be seriously looked into, though maybe not thoroughly explored at such a young age. But before she could speak, she was interrupted.

"It's not an opportunity for your future, it's an opportunity to end your future. You have no idea what kind of danger you would be putting yourself in!"

"Um, I imagine it would be similar to the danger from that time I got kidnapped."

"You are trying to get me to agree to this, right? Not to be even more against it?" Alyssa rolled her eyes but stayed silent. "It's still not happening." There was a moment's pause. Zoe opened her mouth to speak again, but stopped. Something about watching them argue was so much like watching a sitcom on television that she had forgotten her purpose as mediator. Now she couldn't quite figure out what to say. "Stop pouting, Alyssa."

"I'm not pouting! I'm... being adamant." Alyssa said, with her arms crossed across her chest, chin set firmly.

Gibbs moaned, leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. He rested his head in his hands. There was a long break where everyone sat silent. Zoe was speechless, Gibbs was deep in thought, and Alyssa was (not) pouting.

"Do you see what I have to put up with?" Gibbs finally looked up to therapist. She looked surprised to be spoken to.

"Uh..."

"Oh, please. You work with Tony! He's more immature than Grace, and she's seven."

"I'm starting to think he's easier to handle."

"Um, let's discuss something else for a bit. We'll try to keep the groaning to a minimum." Zoe smiled at her feeble attempt at humor. She was rewarded with two fierce glares. "How's Gracie doing? She tells me she's having a sleepover."

There were two collective groans.

* * *

_Flash-Back: Seven years ago_

_Alyssa frowned down at the squealing bundle wrapped in pink. Grace Elizabeth Tanner, only one week old, kicked inside her swaddle, her small face turning red with the exertion._

_"Isn't she sweet, Lyssa? This is your new baby sister, Gracie." Daniel held the struggling infant in his arms, tilting her towards Alyssa._

_The nine-year-old continued to frown, but she knew obliged the correct answer to her father's question. "Yeah, she's real cute."_

_"Are you happy to be a big sister?"_

_"Uh-huh." Alyssa sent another disproving glance to the bundle of crying baby and turned to her mother. " So did'ja bring me a present from the hospital?"_

__

Maria smiled at her eldest daughter. "Yes, Grace is your present."

_"But- But! She's loud and she smells kinda funny."_

_"You were like that, too, when you were a baby. Louder, even."_

__

_Daniel rocked the baby in his arms, watching the conversation between his daughter and wife. Alyssa looked on the verge of a tantrum, and he wondered why they had ever decided having another baby was a good idea. but then looked down at the tiny child in his arms, silent and sound asleep, and remembered. _

_"Well, can't we just trade her in for a quieter one?"_

_

* * *

_

Present time: The Next Day

"I don't see why I can't just go for a couple of hours. If I don't see anything suspicious after a while, I'll just leave! It's not like I'm going to stick around for drinks or something-"

"Alyssa..." Jethro groaned, tired of discussing the subject. He'd already said no, multiple times. Was that not clear?

"And you know how safe your agents are, really. I mean, you're going to be right outside." Alyssa pressed a button on the dinging oven and pulled out a tray of cookies. At least they weren't burnt. "You could just kick down the door and come right in!"

"Alyssa."

"I just don't understand why-"

"ALYSSA!"

Alyssa jumped, and the cookies on the tray in her hands bounced. "Well, geez, Gibbs! There's no need to yell."

"Can we please talk about something else? Like how I'm going to survive this party, for instance."

Alyssa pursed her lips, thinking. She sighed softly and shook her head, as if arguing with herself, before responding. "Don't worry. You'll do fine. Just keep lots of food. That's rule number one of sleepovers. Always have food."

"What's rule number two?" He asked, just as an excited squeal could be heard from the living room.

"They're here! Someone's here! Lyssa, someone's here! Daddy, Daddy, guess what guess what?"

"Rule number two: Have food, but try to avoid sugar rushes." He looked at her, one eyebrow raised. "I shouldn't have let her eat that cookie dough..."

"Right. How many are we expecting?"

"Five at last count, not including Grace. Hannah, Sydney, and Lauren. Lily and Ivy are twins. _Identical_ twins." Alyssa emphasized, laughing. She laid the cookie tray down on the table and Gibbs followed her around the kitchen, looking out of his element and a bit like a lost puppy. "So good luck with that."

"I think you're enjoying this too much."

"Probably. I find it very satisfying knowing that you'll be tormented even when I'm not here." She smiled mock-sweetly, and he smirked back. "Anyways, you've got me until ten when Abby is coming to pick me up to spend the night at her place. I'm thinking I'll do manicures and makeup. They'll probably want you to be Ken when it's time for Barbies. I'll save the movies until after I leave. Abby's bringing me back in the morning, probably around six, since I don't really expect them to sleep in. They're parents are picking them up at ten. Other than that, you're on your own."

"Alright. That's just twelve hours, and you'll be here for eight of those. I can handle that." He tried to reassure himself. But the prospect of having six seven-year-old girls spending the night at his house was unnerving, to say the least.

"Yeah, sure you can." The ringing doorbell interrupted Alyssa's sarcastic comment. She turned to Gibbs, expecting him to go open the door, but he simply glared at the cookie sheet on the table. "Um, I'll get that. You keep finishing the snacks." She left the room and dragged a hand through her messy hair. "Rule number three: Don't scare the parents."

**No Flash-Forward this time, sorry. This chapter just wasn't working with me. I'm aware this one's a bit Alyssa centric, the next chapter should be just the opposite. Sorry for the delay in posts, too! It's been an... interesting week. :/ Probably screwed up something vitally important... I so don't care right now.**

**Review to make me feel like continuing?**

**~Rye**


	3. Chapter 3

**Changed a small bit here, but it shouldn't change any of the story, just a little bit of a character screw-up. Someone (cough *Grace* cough) came off a little bitchier than I intended. Thanks to 95Wolf and GibbsLover77 for helping me out with that. It was my own mistake. I'm not perfect, I just look it. ;)**

Two hours later, Gibbs' house was filled with the strong mixed scent of pizza and fingernail polish. Six little girls were sprawled across his living room floor, laying on piled blankets and sleeping bags. Two had already burst into tears, one had refused to eat the pizza, and then they all argued about which movie to watch. Alyssa had disappeared an hour before with Abby, and Jethro was sure she had been laughing at him as she walked out the door. With a movie finally decided upon and playing, Gibbs was just about to make his escape to the basement when he was interrupted by that one word that made his heart skip beats.

"Daddy?"

He groaned silently and fought back the headache that was working it's way into his brain. "Hmm?"

"Can we go play outside? It's snowing!"

"Definitely not. Snow is cold, too cold."

Grace rolled her eyes. "I know snow is cold, Daddy. We were gonna wear gloves!"

"Not tonight, princess. Watch the movie and maybe in the morning..."

"Daddy says we can go outside!" Grace was sprinting back towards the living room, yelling at the top of her lungs. She was nearly around the corner when Gibbs managed to grab the back of her pajama top.

"I did not say you could go outside!"

"Yeah-huh! You did, too!"

"I said maybe tomorrow. _Maybe_."

"But everybody has to go home early tomorrow! We won't have time."

"Then you'll just have to wait and play in the snow later tomorrow when Lyssa gets back."

Grace assumed her typical pouting expression. "But-"

"No 'buts'. Not tonight. Tomorrow we'll go build a snowman, okay?"

Her disappointed expression remained, but she nodded. "Okay." He released her pajama top and she turned the corner quickly, just before he could catch a glimpse of the mischevious look in her eyes.

_~~~~~~~~~:D_

_Flash Forward: Eight years later_

_Snow was falling in flurries over Pennsylvania as two cars came zooming into a small town called Stillwater. Simultaneously, they pulled into a parking lot, but the smaller sports car's door flew open first. A tall blonde young woman stepped out, dressed in a bright yellow trench coat. She sprinted through the drifting snow, nearly sliding on a slick patch of ice on the sidewalk. Finally she reached the open door of a general store, where a white-haired man stood waiting expectantly. She wrapped her gloved arms around his neck.__"Jackson!"_

_"Alyssa! How's my beautiful girl?" Jackson Gibbs squeezed his surrogate granddaughter tightly. "You're gettin' so grown up."_

_"I'm twenty four, Jackson. I think I'm probably as 'grown up' as I'm going to get." Alyssa laughed. _

_"Well, where's my other beautiful granddaughter? The one that's not so grown up yet."_

_"They were right behind me, last I checked."_

_"Grandpa!" Fifteen-year-old Grace climbed skidded around the corner and jumped her grandfather. "I missed you so much! I'm so happy we get to stay for a while. Two whole weeks! I love Christmas vacation! It's going to be so awesome. And Dad's gonna teach me how to drive while I'm here. Isn't that so cool? And then the whole team is coming up on Christmas Eve so we can celebrate together! This is going to be the best Christmas _ever_!"_

_"It absolutely is!" _

_Finally, a silver-haired man turned the corner, lugging multiple colored suitcases. "Hey, Dad."_

_"Leroy, let me help you with those." They moved the heavy cases into the store, then embraced once inside the warm store. The two men had grown closer in the past few years than they had ever been before, mostly because of Grace's insistance that she see her grandfather at least once every six months. Now they were always driving out to Pennsylvania for long weekends, and the two Gibbs's had found time to reconnect._

_"Merry Christmas, Dad."_

_"Merry Christmas, Leroy. I'm so glad you all came to visit. We're going to have a great time."_

_Alyssa put her arm around her younger sister and repeated her words with emphasis. "Best Christmas _ever_!"_

_"Totally!" Grace smiled. "So, Dad, we can go now, right? You said we could go as soon as we got the stuff in, and the stuff's in, so..."_

_"Alright, hold your horses. Let me at least get some coffee first." _

_Grace groaned dramatically and followed him into the kitchen. She bounced from foot to foot with excitement as he poured himself a cup._

_"Where are you guys going?" Alyssa trailed in with Jackson at her heels. _

_"Dad's gonna teach me how to drive. He's been saying he would forever, but now I finally get to go!" She turned back to her father. "__I get to take the Challenger, right?"_

_He replied with dead seriousness. "Absolutely not."_

_"But...!"_

_"You can take the Ford. Or better yet, how about Alyssa's old car?"_

_"The ugly blue thing? That car's so old, it doesn't even have a brand name!" Grace over-exagerated. "It's just called The Ugly Blue Thing."_

_"And it's perfect for starting out."_

_"I'm not touching that thing."_

_"You're not touching the Challenger, either."_

_"Dad! You're being seriously unfair right now." Grace turned to her grandfather and changed her expression. It was practically a patented Tanner-Gibbs Sister move. Eyes wide, lips pouting, a dramatic turn of phrase, maybe even a sniffle. Guaranteed to turn even the hardest of hearts. "Grandpa, tell Dad he's being unfair. I just want to learn to drive a cool car. The kids at school will laugh if I show up in that Ugly Blue Thing! Then I'll get a complex and have to go to more therapy, please, Grandpa, please!"_

_"Huh-uh. This is between you and your father. I am not involved in this. Alyssa, why don't we go catch up in another room?" And with that, Jackson Gibbs skirted the issue and left the kitchen. Alyssa followed, giggling at the comedic exchange._

_"Daddeeeee..."_

_"No, ma'am. Don't "Daddy" me. It's not going to work." _

_"Pleeease!"_

_"Noooo." He mocked, dragging the syllables out whiningly._

_"Ugh! Why do you have to treat me like such a little kid! I'm not seven anymore!" Grace turned and stomped up the stairs. _

_He flinched again as a door slammed shut upstairs. He grudging refilled his cup of coffee as he mumbled under his breath. __"Serial killers, I can handle. Terrorists, I can handle. Even ex-wives. I can handle those, too. An angry fifteen-year-old... That, I cannot handle."_

_

* * *

_

_Present day:_

"Are you sure your dad's not gonna notice?" A small dark-haired girl turned away from the boots she was lacing on her feet to look at Grace. She was sprawled out on the floor next to a sliding glass window. Outside, snow fell in perfect-looking flakes, looking like each one was begging to melt on your tongue or be the start of a new snowman.

Grace blinked and bit her lip. Of course her dad was going to notice. He noticed _everything. _It was his job. That and catching bad guys.

But she _really _wanted to play in the snow. She didn't want to wait until tomorrow, when all her friends had left. They couldn't have a snowball fight then! And if she was real sneaky when she came back inside, he might not notice until after they'd had a chance to play. If she made her good pouting face when she came back inside, all wet and out-of-breath from running, then he'd have to forgive her. He just had to.

"Nope, he won't notice. He never pays any attention to me, anyways."

_

* * *

_

_Flash Forward: Ten years later_

_Alyssa's acting stint at NYU had been brief, as she found that the role of 'starving artist' didn't well suit her. She left the school to attend UMD her junior year, and graduated two years later with honors and a double major in Criminal Justice and Forensics. __Now she was a probationary agent at NCIS, working on Tony's team before she could graduate to field agent. She was hoping to work her way up the ranks to senior field agent, and then team leader._

_Alyssa was staring dejectedly at her computer, wishing the current case would pan out better for her, when the elevator doors slid open. __"Hi, Lyssa!" Jethro and Grace exited, and Grace immediatly grabbed teh seat beside her sister._

_"Hi... Why are you here?" Alyssa looked up to Gibbs, wide-eyed._

_"Am I not allowed to just drop in?"_

_"I don't know. Why don't you ask the director?" He ignored her smart comment and sat down in an empty chair. His old desk was currently unoccupied, so he rolled over to sit behind it."You do know that's not your desk anymore, right?"_

_Gibbs stared at the desk thoughtfully. "Looks like my desk." He rapped the desktop with his knuckles. "Feels like my desk. Must be my desk."_

_"That's infalliable logic, really." Alyssa mentally counted to ten. So much for seperation of family and work. She looked across the bullpen to see a pair of coffee brown eyes staring intently at her. She felt her cheeks blush and her pulse rev. "Um, Gibbs, have you met Will yet?" A tall, dark-skinned man stood up and crossed the bullpen to shake hands with Gibbs. "Hey, Probie! William Morris, meet Special Agent Gibbs. He's Tony's boss."_

_"And Alyssa's dad." Gibbs added as he stared down the twenty-something across from him, who was looking more intimidated by the second._

_"Yeah, and that." Alyssa shrugged, then laughed. "He was also a marine sniper, so he's probably a better shot than you, too.'  
She giggled girlishly. "Don't look so nervous, probie. He probably won't shoot you. Probably."_

_Grace leaned across her sister's desk and lowered her voice. "Lyss, can I stay at your place tonight? Dad's driving me crazy!"_

_Unfortunately, she hadn't lowered her voice enough. "I can hear you, Gracie. And you can't stay with Lyssa. You have homework."_

_Grace rolled her eyes. "Dad, it's not Gracie anymore! It's Gray, or at least just Grace. I'm not a little girl!"_

_"Right, right." He consented, while knowing she'd never grow out of being his little Gracie, no matter how much of an attitude she developed._

_Tony came around the corner, dressed in a sharp Armani suit. He dropped the folder in his hand on his desk and wrapped his arms around the youngest Gibbs girl. "Gracie! You came to see mee!"_

_Grace groaned heavily. "Geez, DiNozzo! Quit it, I can't breathe!"_

_"Well. Someone's got the holiday spirit." Tony dropped Grace back to the ground. She rolled her eyes and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Hey, boss! How's it going?"_

_"Good, thanks. How's Ziva doing?"_

_"She took the day off." Tony shrugged and his left thumb subconsciously moved down to slide across the wedding band on his finger. "Morning sickness, I think. She's been crazy lately! One minute she's threatening to knife my guts out, and the next she's crying and wanting some weird Israeli food."_

_"Hormones, Tony. I gave you adequate warning." Alyssa stod up and gathered a folder into her arms. __"I have to take something down to Palmer. Hey, Will? Don't you still have that, uh... question, you wanted to ask Abby?"_

_Will looked confused for an instant, but quickly covered and grabbed a folder from the teetering pile on his desk. "Yeah, I do! I guess I'll just go with you then."_

_Tony spun to face his team. "What question?" _

_"You know, boss. The question... about that thing..." Tony still looked confused. Alyssa glared at him fiercely. She was nearly the only person who could do that and get away with it, besides Ziva. He wouldn't have let her, except she had practically grown up doing the same thing. Trying to stop her now would be impossible."You know, for your case?"_

_Recognition dawned in the Italian's eyes. "Oh! That thing. Right. You should do that." _

_"Bye, guys!" Alyssa waved as Will backed into the elevator beside her. "I'll see you around, I'm sure."_

_"It was nice to meet you, Grace. Mister, Agent Gibbs, sir." Will stuttered._

_As soon as the elevator doors closed, the two turned to face each other. She switched the emergency stop and took a step closer to him, backing him into the wall. His hands slid around her waist and he kissed her passionately. When they finally broke apart, Will spoke. "Didn't know your dad works here."_

_"Worked here, past tense. He retired."_

_He shrugged. "Same difference."_

_"And he's not really my dad... It's complicated. I didn't know they were coming in today or I would've told you."_

_"No worries. But you seemed like you didn't really want him to know about... you know, us."_

_Alyssa sighed. "Gibbs' rule number twelve, sweetie. Never date a co-worker. And I guess that falls under the category of Alyssa's rule number sixteen, too."_

_"What's that?"_

_"Don't tell Gibbs _anything."

**Bit of soundtrack randomness for ya on my profile page.**

**Oh, and another idea. Thinking about doing a series of one-shots that would revolve around specific episodes, but having them be in AU with Alyssa and Grace. When I watch certain episodes, I think about what fun Tony and Grace would have had causing trouble in that scene, and how Alyssa and Kate would have been best friends, and I can soo see Grace wanting to be Jenny when she grows up. Plus I could get some reader feedback, with people telling me which episodes they want me to do? Let me know if you like the idea or not, and we'll see where it goes. :)**

**And of course, MERRY CHRISTMAS to all my readers and friends! I love you!**

**~Rye**


	4. Chapter 4

**Alright, let's discuss BRIEFLY before I begin this chapter. I apologize for having to do this, really I do, but I think it's necessary. Two little notes, that's it, I promise.**

**First off, it's been a crazy busy holiday, so I took a bit of an extended break. I hope y'all didn't miss me too much!**

**Second, I suck at planning, therefore causing some frustration in hindsight, but I promise you I'm going to plot the heck out of the next story, and it will BLOW YOUR MIND. (Probably. Maybe. Hopefully.) Hey, I'm seventeen. I can't be expected to think ahead. Don't judge me! Lol. Because of the lack of planning, I changed two little bitty things. So you don't have to re-read, here's a small summary of the changes. (1) In chapter two, Vance tells Lyssa and Gibbs about the weapons trade taking place in a club that Friday. I pushed it to next Friday. Okay? Okay. (2) Grace was a real bee-yotch last chapter, and I didn't mean for her to be that way. All I did to the chapter was make her less of a bee-yotch. **

**I'm done talking. Now read.**

* * *

"Ohmygod. Gracie! Did you take my makeup?" Alyssa laughed and dropped her duffel bag on to the couch. "You look like Kesha."

"Who?" Grace looked up from her coloring book. Silver glitter trailed down her cheek across a base of bright pink blush. Her eyes were so covered in thick, dark makeup that she looked like she had been punched.

Alyssa sighed and rolled her eyes. "Never mind. Sometimes I wonder if you're related to me at all." She sat down and pulled her sister against her side, arm across her shoulders. "Did you have a fun sleepover?"

"I guess."

"You guess?"

"Yeah. It was okay. Most of it was fun."

"But?"

"Daddy said we couldn't go outside..." Grace bit her lip and looked back down at her coloring book, avoiding her sister's eyes.

"And you still went outside?

"Yeah." Grace whispered reluctantly.

"Get caught?" Grace nodded dismally. "I see."

"I don't like being little. I wish I were big like you so I could just go over to Abby's house."

"No, Gracie. You don't wanna grow up, babe. It's no fun." Alyssa pulled her little sister close and kissed her forehead. "Don't ever grow up."

_

* * *

_

Flash Forward: Eleven Years Later

_"I'm not gonna cry, I swear." Alyssa said, and looked up to the sky to keep tears from falling._

_"Please don't. I don't think I can take it if you cry, too."_

_Alyssa shook her head. "Gibbs didn't cry."_

_Grace shrugged and gave her sister a sad smile. "He was crying on the inside." _

_Alyssa laughed and hugged her sister close. "I can't believe you're gonna leave me here in D.C. when you're so far away."_

_"I'm going to Virginia, Lyss, not Africa! It's a four hour drive! Lemme go!" She wiggled in her older sister's arms. Once released, she threw her purse into the passenger seat of her car, a yellow '71 Challenger Hemi with black hood stripes. _

_"Okay. I'm gonna leave now."_

_"Can't you just skip college? Stay home for another year."_

_"Why? So you and Dad can smother me? I don't think so. I'm a big girl now, Lyssa." She said, mocking her Alyssa's babying of her younger sister. "I'll be okay."_

_"All growed up on me."_

_"It happens. Can't stop it." She shrugged. __"Don't get nostalgic. You're going to see me on Saturday."_

_"Fine." Alyssa took a deep breath and hugged her sister tight once more. "Bye, Gracie. Love ya." __Grace waved from the front seat as she drove off, and when the car turned the corner, Alyssa finally cried from missing her "little" sister._

_

* * *

_

Present day

"Where's Lyssa? I haven't seen her in a few days." Abby asked as she picked up the bag of evidence Gibbs had dropped on the table.

"She hasn't been here in a while. Didn't feel like coming in."

Abby's face grew worried. "Is she sick again?" Gibbs shook his head. "Then why didn't she feel like coming in?"

"I don't know, Abbs. I honestly don't know."

Abby glanced over to Grace, who was settling into a corner with a coloring book and box of crayons, then back to Gibbs. He nodded to the back room, and she opened the door. "Hey, Grace. We'll be right back, okay? Have to talk about boring big people stuff." When Grace nodded, Abby shut the door behind them, cutting her off from their voices. "What's going on?"

"I really don't know. Lyssa's dead quiet, won't talk to me, won't talk to Gracie. She doesn't want to see a movie with Tony, doesn't want to go shopping with Ziva. She won't talk, just locks herself in her room. I can't get anything out of her, or even Grace."

"Huh. She won't talk to you?" Abby repeated, shocked.

"Nope. She doesn't want to talk to anyone. I tried to get her to come down here, to talk to you, but she said no." He looked anxiously through the glass door at Grace, who was paying no attention to them. "I thought you might try to get something out of Grace. She won't talk about Lyssa with me. Alyssa must have told her not to."

"Okay, yeah. I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks, Abbs."

* * *

Abby looked from her computer to where Grace was sitting and coloring. Grace pulled Burt to her side, and the animal made a flatulent noise. Abby giggled as she always did, before she noticed the tears in Grace's eyes. She flew to Grace's side and squatted down beside her. "Hey, sweetie. What's wrong?"

Grace sniffled. "Nothin'. "

"Sure? You look kinda upset."

"I'm fine." She defended, but she squeezed the stuffed hippo's sound box again.

"Yeah. Well, I guess you don't care if I sit here with you for a while then, do you?" Grace shook her head, and Abby sat down at the tile floor, crossing her legs in her black plaid pants. "Can I draw with you?" Grace didn't say anything again, just ripped a piece of paper from her notebook and pushed the crayons towards the goth. They both colored quietly for a few minutes, the bass of a punk song the only sound to be heard. After a few minutes, Abby held up her finished drawing, a little blonde cartoon girl holding a stuffed hippo. "I drew this just for you."

Grace smiled shyly and took the picture. Folding it in half carefully, she slid it into her notebook. "Thank you."

"You're welcome! What did you draw?"

Grace pulled the drawing pad up close against her chest. "Nothin'."

"Aw, c'mon, I showed you mine!" Grace cautiously moved the pad to Abby's open hand. "Do you want to tell me about it?" Abby asked immediatly, then nearly regretted it. The theme was obvious, the title across the top reading "My Family". It was vaguely similar to a picture Abby had seen on Gibbs' desk, of the girls and the entire NCIS team, but the difference was disturbing. There were two blonde girls and a taller silver-haired man, but in the background were two crudely-drawn grave monuments that read "Mommy" and "Daddy".

* * *

Gibb closed his cell phone and threw it to the desk a little harder than necessary. "McGee, I need you to pull something up for me."

"Sure, what do you need?"

Gibbs walked to stand behind him, his hand on the back of Tim's chair. He sighed before answering. "The Tanner case, Daniel's."

McGee's eyes widened and his mouth fell open, but he quickly closed it and began typing, deciding that now was not the time to question. At his prompting, the case file popped up on the screen. "Hey, did you know Alyssa's seventeenth birthday is next week?"

"Yep. But that's not what I wanted to see." He pointed to another part of the screen.

"Oh." McGee's face fell. "I see. That's tough." He winced at his own wording, knowing that "tough" was not an accurate description. "That why Lyssa's not been around?"

"That's my guess, yeah. She doesn't want to talk about it."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm not gonna talk about it. Wait for her to come to me."

* * *

"Alyssa."

"What?"

"I need to talk to you." There was no response. "It's important." Nothing. "I really don't want to have to take this door down."

The aforementioned door flew open. "What do you want?" Alyssa turned her back on him immediatly and went back to sitting on her bed, typing into a laptop.

Gibbs sat down on the bed beside her, looking at the posters on the walls but watching her out of the corner of his eye. "I was thinking, about the offer Leon gave you on Monday."

She immediately looked up. "Really?"

"Mhm."

"Well, what did you think?"

"I think..." He took a deep breath and tried to swallow the lump in his throat. "I think you should do it."

**I'm sure my "future" is pretty distorted, but I don't care. ****Oh, and Gillian? It's still Friday here. ;)**

**~Rye**


End file.
